THE ARTISTIC TYPE: A BLOG OF THEATER, ARTS AND CULTURE

Azar Nafisi is one of the writers participating in the 2013 Winter… (S,J. Staniski )

January 28, 2013|By Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel Arts Writer

It's time once again for Winter With the Writers, one of the literary treasures of Central Florida. Each year, Rollins College presents the program, subtitled "A Festival of Literary Arts," to the community without charge.

The college is proud of the program — and rightly so. The website (rollins.edu/winterwiththewriters) boasts an impressive quote from Nobel prizewinning author Sinclair Lewis:

"I can think of only four universities ... Rollins College in Florida, Middlebury College in Vermont, the University of Michigan, and the University of Chicago ... that have shown an authentic interest in contemporary creative literature."

Lewis made the remark in his address as he accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in Stockholm — in 1930.

Yes, you read that right: Rollins has been hosting famous authors for decades. Winter With the Writers is an offshoot of the "Animated Magazine" program established by Rollins president Hamilton Holt in 1927.

Famous guests have included poets Billy Collins and Maya Angelou, playwrights Wendy Wasserstein and David Henry Hwang, and novelists Anne Beattie and Kurt Vonnegut.

This year's lineup includes Karen Russell, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, and N. Scott Momaday, a Pulitzer winner and recipient of the National Medal of Arts. They are joined by Azar Nafisi, Mayra Santos-Febres and Ricardo Pau-Llosa.

Peter Matthiessen, who was previously scheduled to attend, has unexpectedly had to cancel his visit.

All the writers present free afternoon master classes and evening readings on each Thursday in February. Guests are encouraged to arrive early, as seating is limited — and these programs fill up. Here's more about each writer:

Momaday will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in Knowles Memorial Chapel. In 2007, he received the National Medal of Arts for his writings that celebrate and preserve Native American art and oral tradition. His Pulitzer was awarded for his first novel, “House Made of Dawn.” His master class will be at 4 p.m. Feb. 7 at 330 Winter Park Plaza, 330 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park.

Russell will speak at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 in Knowles Memorial Chapel. She was nominated for Pulitzer Prize for "Swamplandia," set in a fictional version of Central Florida that contains attractions suspiciously similar to Gatorland and Walt Disney World. The New York Times picked "Swamplandia" as one of the 10 best books of 2011. Her new book, "Vampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories," is due out on Feb. 12. Russell's master class is at 4 p.m. Feb. 14 at 330 Winter Park Plaza.

Santos-Febres, an African-Puerto Rican author, and Ricardo Pau-Llosa, a Cuban-American poet, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Annie Russell Theatre. Santos-Febres is a critically acclaimed poet and novelist who has received a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. Pau-Llosa is widely recognized for his knowledge of Latin American art, as an art critic, lecturer, art collector, curator, essayist and short-story writer. Pau-Llosa's master class will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 21 in the Woolson House on the Rollins campus; Santos-Febres' master class will follow at 4 p.m. in the Woolson House.

Nafisi will close out the series with her appearance at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in Tiedtke Concert Hall. Nafisi is best known for "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books," in which she describes her experiences as a secular woman living and working in Iran. Her master class will be at 4 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Galloway Room at Rollins.